Who is Carter Davenport, warden stabbed in Alabama prison riot?

Warden Carter Davenport (right) speaks to media members during a tour as State Senator Cam Ward (center) and Kim Thomas, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections listen at the St. Clair Correctional Facility Fri., March 16, 2012 in Springville, Ala. (The Birmingham News/Bernard Troncale).

(BERNARD TRONCALE)

Carter Davenport, warden of Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, was stabbed along with a guard in an early Saturday morning riot involving about 100 inmates, some of which set fires inside the prison.

This came just after a third inmate was killed in the prison over a 10-month period and the fifth inmate to be killed in 30 months, the EJI reported.

"I have the expectation that people locked down in secure facilities not be murdered by other people on a regular basis," said Bryan Stevenson, EJI executive director. "This is a football state, and I don't care how much we like the coach, if a team loses season after season, they are going to get a new coach."

ADOC spokeswoman Kristi Gates wrote in an email that the ADOC "will not tolerate a culture of abuse at any of our facilities."

History of 'unprofessional conduct'

About 15 inmates were injured in a riot at St. Clair Correctional Facility in April of last year, about a month after ADOC said Davenport was reassigned.

In 2014, Stevenson said St. Clair staff often smuggled in drugs and contraband that leads to inmate conflict and violence. He also said the St. Clair cell doors didn't always lock, and the prison staff repeatedly ignored inmate requests for assistance when they are threatened or feel in danger.

Davenport was promoted to warden in October 2010 "despite a history of discipline for unprofessional conduct," according to the EJI. Davenport earned $87,856 last year, payroll records show.

ADOC officials said there was no interview with the inmate or documentation of his injuries, and the beating was never investigated because Davenport self-reported it.

Davenport took over in 2010 as St. Clair warden after working as a warden at Easterling and Fountain correctional facilities. Earlier, he was a deputy warden at Camden Community Based Facility and a captain at Tutwiler.

The number of reported assaults at St. Clair more than quadrupled after Davenport arrived. There were 101 reported assaults in the prison in 2013; there were 23 in 2010.

Updated at 2:04 p.m. with statement ADOC on when Davenport was reassigned to Holman Correctional Facility.